Collapsible transport box



Dec. 6, 1960 K. e. TORNQVIST,

COLLAPSIBLE TRANSPORT BOX Filed June 14, 1957 INVENTOE mm sum/we ro'k/vw/sr ATI'OHVEV Unite 'COLLAPSIBLE TRANSPORT BOX Karl Gunnar Tornqvist, Uppsala, Sweden, assignor to Svenska Box Aktiebolaget, Stockholm, Sweden The present invention refers to a collapsible transport box comprising a bottom plate, a structure such as feet located at the corners of the bottom plate and supporting the same above ground, and side walls and end walls supported along respectively opposite side edges of said bottom plate for swinging movement between an erected position at right angles to the surface plane of said bottom plate and a collapsed position substantially in parallel with and overlying said surface plane.

Transport boxes of this general type are used for transporting fragile or otherwise easily damaged goods such as tubular lamps on railways, trucks or boats. The boxes required for this purpose must be particularly strong and are accordingly expensive. As a rule, such boxes are returned to the consigner. The railway administrations in many countries charge reduced freight rates or make no charge at all for such transport boxes both on the way to the place of destination and for the return of the empty boxes as long as the weight of the boxes is below a certain limit. In respect to returning the empty boxes it is suitable to make them collapsible, which in certain cases may mean a further reduction of the return freight rates.

It is accordingly a purpose of the present invention to provide a strong transport box which is of simple and sturdy construction and which can be easily collapsed for facilitated return of the empty box by railway, truck or boat.

One difiiculty in constructing collapsible boxes consists in that when all the side and end walls are hingedly connected to the bottom plate some of the walls must be hinged at a higher level above the bottom than others in order that the walls may be placed upon each other substantially in parallel with each other and with the bottom when the box is collapsed. For this reason it is necessary that the bottom of the box at least on some sides is provided with raised edges on which the walls in question are hingedly supported at a level above that of other collapsed walls. It is a further purpose of the invention to avoid this constructive difiiculty.

In accordance with the present invention a collapsible transport box of the general type indicated above is characterized in that each end wall is provided with projections extending from opposite sides of the lower part of the end wall in a downwardly inclined direction parallel to and outwardly of the adjacent side wall faces of said bottom structure, a pivot projecting from the end of each projection towards the side of the bottom structure and extending through a hole in the side of the bottom structure to support the end wall on said bottom structure for said swinging movement.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention the said hole is in the form of a slot provided in the side of the bottom structure and inclined in relation to the bottom surface, one end of said slot being located at such a distance from the end wall side of the bottom structure and the bottom surface plane that in the erected position of the end wall the pivot abuts against said one rtes Patent A 2,963,192 l atented Dec. 6, 19cc 2 end of the slot. By this construction the erected position of the end wall is fixedly established while, on the other hand, the end wall may assume different collapsed positions depending on the position of the pivot along said slot. Accordingly, it will be possible to place additional box inserts such as partition walls between, on the one hand, the collapsed side walls resting upon each other and the bottom of the box and, on the other hand, the collapsed end walls which by a mere displacement of the pivots in the slots are enabled to maintain a collapsed position in parallel with the bottom plate. V

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the slot is arcuate and may extend from a point near the end wall side of the bottom structure to a point located more closely to the centre of the box and more closely to said bottom surface plane than said first-named point.

Other purposes of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the transport box according to the invention. In the attached drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of the left half of the box with the side and end walls erected and Figure 2 is a section through the right half of the box with the side and end walls collapsed, a suitable cover for the transport box being indicated in position above both the figures.

Referring to the drawings the bottom structure of the box is shown to consist of a rectangular frame 1 provided with feet 2 at the four corners. A bottom plate 1a is inserted into the frame 1. On the long sides of the rectangular bottom plate the side walls 7 are pivoted in some suitable way such as by means of conventional hinges (not shown). The end walls 5 comprise plates provided with inwardly directed reinforcing angle irons 5a along the lateral edges. Each of the reinforcements 5a is provided with a projection 6 extending from the lower end of the end wall perpendicularly to the surface plane of the end wall in a downwardly inclined direction towards the center of the box. As appears from Figure l the projections 6 in the erected position of the box extend with their ends over the side faces of the bottom structure. Through the end portion of each of the projections 6 a pivot 4 is inserted such as to extend into the side of the bottom structure, where it is received in an arcuate slot 3 running from a point A in the respective foot 2 of the bottom structure adjacent the end wall side of the bottom structure to a point B disposed in the frame 1 more closely to the centre of the box and to the plane of the bottom surface than the first-named point A.

It will be seen from Figure 2 that in the collapsed position of the box both the side walls '7 are positioned directly upon each other and on the bottom plate of the bottom structure. This superposition is obtainable by means of conventional hinges. The end walls partially overlap in the collapsed position, such an overlap requiring that the reinforcing angle irons 5a of the right hand end wall embrace or straddle those of the left hand end walls. The difference in level above the bottom plate between the two end walls is compensated for by a displacement of the pivots 4 of the right hand end wall inwardly and upwardly in the slots 3 as shown in Figure 2 with regard to the slot in the forward foot 2. If in a box collapsed according to Figure 2 further partition walls or other inserts were placed between, on the one hand, the superimposed side walls 7 and, on the other hand, the collapsed end walls 5, the pivots 4 would take a position at a still greater distance from the end A of the slot than that shown in Figure 2. Thus, the contruction according to the invention enables the collapsed end walls 5 to occupy various levels above the bottom, the difference in level between the highest and lowest positions being equal to the difference inlevel between ends A and B of the slots.

In the erected position of the end walls the lower edges thereof rest on the bottom structure 1 while at the same time the vertical position of the end walls is fixed by the abutment of the pivots 4 against the ends B of the slots 3. The erected side walls 7 are held against outward swinging movement by the reinforcing angle irons 5:: provided on the end walls 5 while the side walls 7 in turn support the end walls 5 against inward collapse.

The erected box may be closed by a cover 8 outwardly embracing the upper edges of the end and side walls and adapted to be fixed in place by means of suitable locking means. The same cover may be placed upon the marginal edges of the bottom structure and locked there by the same locking means such as to enclose the collapsed side and end walls.

n the upper side of the cover corner pieces 10 may be provided to enable several boxes to be safely piled upon each other.

Due to the construction according to the invention the bottom plate 1a must be supported on an elevated level to provide space for the slots 3 below the bottom plate. For this purpose the bottom plate 1a maybe carried by any suitable supporting structure; however, the construction shown here and involving the use of corner feet 2 is preferred because it enables the box to be lifted by means of a fork-type tractor or the like. A specific advantage of the invention resides in the exchangeability of the ordinary side and end walls against walls of a different thickness without the necessity of making alterations in the end wall supporting means. The usefulness of a box according to the invention may thus be greatly increased by exchanging one or more of the ordinary closed side and end walls against walls provided with a lid adopted to be locked. By providing such a lid access is obtained to the interior of the box also in case several boxes are so placed against each other and on top of each other that only one side or end wall is exposed.

From such a box goods may be dispatched to a plurality of consignees without the necessity of removing the box from the transport vehicle. In a conventional transport box in which the end walls are firmly journalled to the bottom structure the substitution of a wall provided with a lid for an ordinary closed wall would not be possible without impairing the collapsibility of the box.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the embodiment shown and described. For example, it is possible to replace the two pivots 4 of one of the end walls 5 by one unitary rod extending through the two projections 6 and sliding in the two slots 3. The end walls need not be provided with reinforcing angle irons nor is the raised edge of the frame 1 a necessary characteristic of the invention. The side walls need not be connected with the bottom by hinges or the like and may instead be loosely inserted between the end walls. The end walls are not required to rest with their lower edges on the bottom surface but may be supported by abutment of their outer surface against a support projecting upwardly from the bottom, such support, for example, being the raised edge of the frame of the bottom structure. The construction of the box cover is not a part of the present invention.

In the claims, the terms upwardly, erect, etc., refer to the positions of the parts as viewed in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, and not to any specific or limiting positions of the box structure in actual use.

What I claim is:

1. A collapsible transport box comprising a bottom plate, a structure supporting said plate, side walls and end walls supported along respective edges of said plate for swinging between an erect position substantially at right angles to said plate and a collapsed position substantially parallel with and overlying said plate, each said end wall being provided with a projection extending downwardly and inwardly from the lower end of each side edge thereof, and a pin fixed at the end of each said projection, and extending through a respective slot in the side of said supporting structure, each said slot being inclined downwardly and outwardly from a point adjacent said plate and spaced from the plane of the end wall, to a point spaced below said plate and adjacent the plane of said end wall.

2. A collapsible box comprising a bottom plate, a structure supporting said plate, side walls and end walls supported on and along respective side edges of said plate for swinging between an erect position substantial ly at right angles to said plate and a collapsed position substantially parallel with and overlying said plate, each said end wall being provided with projections extending from the lower ends of its respective vertical edges in planes substantially at right angles to the end wall and inwardly and downwardly, and a pin projecting from the end of each said projection and extending through a respective slot in the sides of said supporting structure, each said slot being inclined downwardly and outwardly from a point adjacent said plate and spaced from the plane of the end wall, to a point spaced below said plate and adjacent the plane of said end wall.

3. A collapsible transport box comprising a bottom plate, a structure supporting said plate, side walls and end walls supported by and along respective side edges of said plate for swinging between an erect position substantially at right angles to said plate and a collapsed position parallel with and overlying said plate, each said end wall being provided with projections extending downwardly and inwardly in respective planes substantially parallel to the plane of the corresponding side wall, when said wall is in erect position, a first rod extending between and connecting the ends of the projections of one said end wall, a second rod connecting the ends of the projections of the other end wall, each said rod extending through a respective pair of slots formed in the sides of said supporting structure, each said slot being inclined downwardly and outwardly from a point adjacent said bottom plate and spaced from the plane of the end wall, to a point spaced below said plate and adjacent the plane of said end wall.

4. A collapsible transport box comprising a bottom plate, a structure fixed with and supporting said plate, side walls and end walls supported by and extending along respective edges of said plate for swinging movement between an erect position substantially normal to said plate, and a collapsed position substantially parallel with and overlying said plate, each said end wall having a pair of projections extending from the lower ends of its corresponding side edges, and extending downwardly and inwardly in respective parallel planes normal to the plane of the corresponding end wall, when said wall is erect, a first rod connecting the ends of the projections of one said end wall, a second rod connecting the ends of the projections of the other said end wall, said first rod extending through a first pair of slots in the sides of said bottom support structure, said second rod extending through a second pair of slots in the sides of said bottom support structure, each said pair of slots being substantially arcuate about the line of intersection of the plane of said plate and the plane of the corresponding end wall when erect, each rod, when its end wall is erect, engaging the ends of the respective pair of slots to prevent further outward swinging. v

5. A collapsible box comprising a bottom plate, a structure fixed with and supporting said plate, side walls and end walls connected to and along respective edges of said plate for swinging between an erect position sub stantially normal to said plate and a collapsed position substantially parallel with and overlying said plate, each said end wall when erect, having its lower edge in contact with said plate, each end wall including a projection extending downwardly and inwardly from the lower end of each side edge thereof when said wall is erect, each said projection lying in a plane normal to the plane of its end wall, a pin projecting from the inner side of each said projection and extending through a respective one of a plurality of slots in said support structure, each said slot being inclined downwardly and outwardly from a point adjacent said plate and spaced from the plane of the end wall, to a point spaced below said plate and adjacent the plane of said end wall, each pin riding in and along a respective slot as the corresponding wall is swung between collapsed and erect positions and engaging the inward terminal of its slot to limit outward swinging of its end wall.

6. In a collapsible box, a bottom plate, a structure fixed with and supporting said plate, side walls and end walls supported by and along respective edges of said plate for swinging from an erect position substantially normal to said plate to a collapsed position parallel with and overlying said plate, each said end wall when erect, having its lower edge in contact with said plate and having a pair of projections extending in parallel planes at right angles thereto from the lower ends of its respective side edges, downwardly and inwardly therefrom when said end wall is erect, each said pair of projections terminating below said plate when the corresponding end wall is erect, an abutment fixed with each said projection at the end thereof, each said abutment extending through a respective one of a plurality of slots in the sides of said support structure, each said slot being inclined downwardly and outwardly from a point adjacent said plate and spaced from the plane of the end wall, to a point spaced below said plate and adjacent the plane of said end wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 271,061 Hafgar Jan. 23, 1883 1,407,054 Farley Feb. 21, 1922 2,070,070 Stoner Feb. 9, 1937 2,553,607 Rosenberg May 22, 1951 2,735,569 Averill Feb. 21, 1956 2,780,382 Beckner et al. Feb. 5, 1957 

